[NotSoEpicMods]

New to this forum so I thought I should share something I recently worked on. A couple weeks ago I got the itch to do something on my car again, anything really. Something that always bothered me was how the parts behind the "H" on the front grill looked kinda boring. It's filled in with boring plastic making it look kinda bleh to me, case in point:

(this is before I did the chrome delete a while back)

So I naturally thought hey if I don't like the look of it why don't I change it. I ended up talking to people I work with(auto garage) and lots of them told me why not just paint it black. I thought that was going to be too easy so naturally like the idiot I usually am I said screw that and started cutting out the backing of the H to put in a plate painted the same color as my brakes(metallic blue). Got the cuts done, not perfect mind you, but it was done and then thought to myself how will people know I've done anything to my car when I'm driving at night? Well I found a solution for that too and here's the end result:

So I'm open to what everyone thinks about it. There are a few things I want to do with it in the future such as wire it to the tail lights instead of headlights and find someone with a milling machine they'd be willing to strap my grill on to cut down the backing a bit so the blue part is a little closer to the H. All in all I'm happy with it for now.

 

[ampm1678]

nice work! It reminds me of the illuminated front grill star that comes as an option for Mercedes, but more unique and more noticeable. I like it.

 

[scottyrocks]

I think it's a cool little mod.

 

[Hatman]

That's neat! What did you use to light it up? Maybe a DIY?

 

[NotSoEpicMods]

nice work! It reminds me of the illuminated front grill star that comes as an option for Mercedes, but more unique and more noticeable. I like it.

Thanks! I won't lie I did get some inspiration from that emblem from Mercedes. Apparently you can buy similar looking ones for just about any make on ebay for cheap which I could see being viable if the emblem was on the hood or something. I found it more fun trying to make it myself.

I think it's a cool little mod.

Thanks.

That's neat! What did you use to light it up? Maybe a DIY?

Thank you. I used those cheapo LED strips you can buy in the auto section of Walmart. There's quite a bit of room behind the H itself that allows you to hide the lighting neatly. I got 4 short ones that were just long enough to cover each edge, though I could've probably done it with a single large one. As much as I would love to build my own LED lighting(allowing for better light distribution) that's a little more intensive than I would like to go this time around. I don't have any in progress pics for a DIY but it's pretty simple to do this mod. I will be tweaking it in the future so maybe then I will.

 

[NotSoEpicMods]

-snip- Maybe a DIY?

Well I did happen to come across a pic I had of the backside of the emblem while I was doing it but it's the only pic I got. I can kinda explain what to do with it, not a true DIY unfortunately.

1. Obviously with the grill off the car carefully cut out the areas indicated with a 1 in the picture using a rotary tool and fine point grinding inserts.

2. Using #8 T-nuts(stainless steel recommended) indicated with a 2 in the picture. Epoxy them into the place shown in the picture. This will allow you to bolt your polycarbonate to the back of the H and remove it/change it if needed.

3. Cut out 2 or 3 sheet's of 1/8th polycarbonate so that they will fit into the area indicated by the white line in the picture. Test fitment and drill holes for #8 bolts(stainless steel recommended) to screw into the T-nuts. Cut bolts to length you need which will depend on how many sheets of poly you use. Once done and fitted use Permatex clear RTV silicone or equivalent to seal the edges and bolt holes of the poly sheets together. This prevents moisture and dirt getting between the sheets, alternatively you can use a single thicker piece of poly(more expensive).

3.5. Paint one side of your poly sheets the color you want leaving the other side of the sheets clear and unpainted. I used a good 8 coats of metallic spray paint to help prevent light bleeding to the condenser. If you want more of a glow in the grill area you'll have to experiment with how many coats to put.

4. Stick your LED strip(s) of the color you pick to the areas indicated with a blue line and run the wires out where the yellow line is.

5. Screw down the poly sheets to the back covering the LED strips. Make sure the painted side of the poly sheets faces the engine bay when the grill is installed. Also I would recommend using a very small amount of the RTV silicone on the screw/bolt heads to prevent them from backing off with vibrations. It is optional to use some electrical tape to go around the edges of the poly to help with light bleed.

6. Reinstall your grill and wire the LEDs how you want.

 

[kmtsd]

That's pretty cool. I think red would look good too, as opposed to getting the red emblems installed. Any know if that is legal or what colors would be or wouldn't be legal?

 

[scottyrocks]

Actually, it varies by state, but it's pretty much a done deal that any blue or red lighting in the front is a bozo-no-no.

 

[NotSoEpicMods]

Huh weird my image messed up in my step by step post, hope it stays working this time.

That's pretty cool. I think red would look good too, as opposed to getting the red emblems installed. Any know if that is legal or what colors would be or wouldn't be legal?

Actually, it varies by state, but it's pretty much a done deal that any blue or red lighting in the front is a bozo-no-no.

Like Scotty said it varies by state or in my case province. Laws have various loop holes and what not that can be extorted as such what I'm doing(explained below). I asked a police officer I know about my modification and he said that while I may or may not get pulled over specifically for that since it's not intense, project out or flash like those on emergency vehicles or snow removal vehicles I would be pretty safe. However he also said if I get pulled over for something unrelated it's almost guaranteed that I would also get dined for having a blue light on the front of my vehicle but your mileage may vary. Additionally if you wanted red you could paint the polycarbonate red and use white LEDs instead of blue LEDs like I used.



So according to the Ontario website for traffic laws this is what it says about blue lights.

Red and blue lights to the front restricted

(14.1) In addition to the lighting requirements in this Part, a police department vehicle may carry lamps that cast red and blue lights, but no other motor vehicle shall carry any lamp that casts red and blue lights to the front. 2007, c. 13, s. 17 (2).

Flashing blue light on snow-removal equipment

(31) No person shall, while operating a road service vehicle on a highway, plow, salt or de-ice the highway or apply chemicals or abrasives to the highway for snow or ice control unless the road service vehicle is equipped with a lamp producing intermittent flashes of blue light visible for a distance of 150 metres from all directions. 1996, c. 33, s. 11.
Restriction on use of flashing blue light

(32) No person shall operate a lamp that produces intermittent flashes of blue light on a highway except,
(a) a person operating a road service vehicle in the circumstances described in subsection (31); or
(b) a person operating a police department vehicle, together with a lamp that produces intermittent flashes of red light, as permitted by subsection (14.1). 2007, c. 13, s. 17 (8).

My loophole is that it says red AND blue lights for police vehicles and FLASHING blue lights for snow removal. My logo is not in combination with a red light nor is it flashing. So I do have some basis to fight a ticket in court if I have to again YMMV.

 

[Nomar06]

nice little mod to spice up the front end....